Tuesday, September 30, 2014

For me, there is nothing like a little mindless string piecing to set my mind at complete peace (piece). LOL!! Just sewing away, not worrying too much about what goes with what. These scraps were all in a bag, and I think they need to all stay together. A collection...I am sewing with a collection!!

I have all the center blocks together, and now I am working on the border. The colors are pretty vibrant, and I am sorry that the flash washed them out a bit. There is a lot of orange and black in the strings, so that is why the orangish inner border was chosen.

In the future, I will not use scraps for the sashing, but a pure white. I shouldn't muddy up these pretty colors!

There was only one of this center string in the sack..."loves me, loves me not"... maybe as a girl you took a flower and pulled the petals off one by one, wondering if your sweetheart loved you!! Salvages and all, they all came together in this quilt.

*********************Pondering************************

I am really trying very hard to use up every bit of every piece of fabric that I have ever bought, or been gifted, or thrift store acquired. Seems like I try so hard to do this, that I may have lost sight of what I really, truly love. I want to work with my plaids...I want to work with my scraps too. I think I just need to set a plan, each month, of one UFO, one hand project, and one other quilt to concentrate on. And put all the others away, so the scraps stop calling me to them!!! Don;'t worry, pretty pieces and strings and squares...you will wind up in a quilt someday!!

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Just a little pumpkin for the season...although it is still summer here, at least the temps are a tiny bit cooler. This is from Quilt vine; just click on their name to see their website. It was a kit...but I changed the borders. Just can't leave well enough alone, can I?

And I added a bigger pincushion under the tiny one I made...just playing here.

ALERT!!! ALERT!!! ALERT!!!

A couple things! Please see this post...Audrey of Quilty Folk's mom lost all her stash and quilts in a horrendous fire. Let's just fill her mailbox with pretty, pretty stash fabric...and rebuild her stash! What do you say?? Quilters can do it!! Sweet Paulette blogged about it HERE!

And another thing...Stephanie of Ditchin time quilts is having a wonderful giveaway...please see it here...and guess what? She is a nurse too!!! HERE!!

Have a great day, everyone!!! Thank you for you friendship...when I am having a rough day, you always lift me up!!

Monday, September 22, 2014

I read Karen's blog, the Log Cabin quilter each day. She is quilting along on this quilt. Please click HEREto see hers. So I am doing it too! I am using scraps, and Karen is using wools. I am doing needle turn applique and really enjoying it so much! You can join right in ...please see this SITE!

And working on these blocks too...a little piecing!!

**********************Nurse's notes*****************************
Warning!! This is not the most postive thing in the world!!! But since this is my blog, I am going to write about it...kind of purging my heartache in a way.

I had the most wonderful patient!! He was so very, very sick...so very young...so very much cancer invading his entire body. Each and every time I entered the room, he lifted me up. I was supposed to be taking care of him..and I did this of course with love...but he also took care of my spirit and soul too. What a darling brave man...a humongous eight hour surgery...four huge incisions...infections, chemo, radiation...just everything he could have, he did have. His sweet nature is a blessing to me in every way!!

I had another patient too...the antithesis of the above. I wrote a whole paragraph about it...but let me just summarize...I was told I was too little, too incompetent, too slow, to "get my a$$ moving"...I tell you, I just loved going in my other patient's room for a little relief from the abuse!! After a 12 hour shift of this, and fretting about it all night...hopefully I can let it go RIGHT NOW! My husband says to just let it go...but my heart is really involved in my work, and it hurts my heart...

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

I made the little wall hanging from a previous post in other scrap fabrics I had. I know that yellow print in the watering can is at least 25 years old! This is a little portable project; one I can take in the car with me. I love those, don't you?

I have been cutting!! Scraps all...I just love them! The OMIGOSH pattern by Sue Garmer uses one inch strips. I always save that size, thinking log cabin quilts, and now I have just the project to use them up! I am sure this will not be near enough...so I have been going through the strings and anything suitable is being cut up.

Congratulations you two!! I wish I had enough patterns for everyone who so graciously replied...thank you, everyone!!

Would you do me a favor and go over to Sue's blog and leave her a comment, thanking her for the pattern giveaway? What a nice thing for a famous designer to do! I know she would appreciate it...but be prepared!! You will want to take hours there, and read every single post! HERE

What I mean by my disappearing is going back to work at the hospital...lots of days coming up!

Monday, September 15, 2014

This morning was kind of a tough one!! I find myself wandering, not being able to settle on a project or a cleaning place in the house. A little project is usually just what I need to get back on track. I have been really admiring these bags, so made a couple little ones from my plaid scraps and shirt yardage for the linings from the thrift store.

Another view...the little one's pattern is here, by Rachel Griffith. The larger one is just about twice as big, and I tweaked it as I went to make it the size I wanted. I did put double batting in the large one, and interfacing in the handles to give them some strength and shape. Each one took about one hour to make...easy-peasy!!

Have a great day, everyone!! I am off to clean the kitchen...having found my focus!

Sunday, September 14, 2014

The bow ties won out!! I made all the little pieces I was playing with in a previous post into bow tie blocks. Here are the best of the bow tie blocks. I struggled with a few, LOL!! Not put together yet, but soon. I love using the picture as a tool, because I see I have too many of one color together.

This is kind of stretched out in the picture, but is a 6 x 6 inch finished block. I am in the midst of cutting an entire quilt of these blocks. Scraps, anyone?? I love them the best!

These are about 4 inch finished...tiny log cabin blocks. I am not sure about the red center...what do you think? Maybe all browns?? Or orange!!?

Lots of browns and creams cut out for these blocks!! I am on a huge cutting binge!

And a tiny pinwheel pincushion. Two inches finished. From a badly pieced block.

Have you seen these blocks? A disappearing pinwheel block. Maybe I will cut a bunch of these too!! Mary from Quilt Hollow featured these a few posts back, on her blog.

The opposite colors...just playing here...

So that is where my mind is, ladies and gents!! All about the little pieces, the scraps that people might throw away...treasure to this girl!! I wonder if I will always think about things this way??

Friday, September 12, 2014

I finished all the little pieces and parts into bow ties from last post. It was such fun to play with all the pieces in different patterns! But the bow ties won out.

A funny thing happened in our neighborhood this morning. I was out walking, and saw an Estate Sale sign. Oh no, I thought...not another one of our elderly neighbors!! So I walked the block and walked into the house...and met a quilter! She was selling lots of her belongings, because she and her husband are moving to Taos, New Mexico! She has a long arm machine and is a scrappy quilter, just like me!! Darn, I sure wish I would have known about her earlier...someone my own age, and a quilter to boot!! She was selling this beautiful basket above. I love it, and it now lives at my house.

Now the most fun thing ever happened this week! I ordered this pattern, from Sue Garman...the OMIGOSH quilt. I have loved it forever, and it is just the right pattern for scraps...the ultimate pattern for scraps!! I ordered two of the pattern, so I could give one away. Guess what? Sue Garman herself e-mailed me and said thank you for ordering!! I wrote back and told her I was going to give away one of the patterns, and she sent another one also to give away!! So...I have two of this pattern to give away. It is such a fun one!! So just comment on this post and I will draw two names next week to win this pattern. Sue was just the nicest, most kind and down to earth lady via our chat. Please see her website HERE...she sells the most beautiful patterns! And her blog HERE. http://suegarman.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

What fun!! I have new pieces and parts to play with!! These are parts of this bow tie quilt below. Just thought I would lay them out into something new, just for fun.

Tiny bow ties!! Aren't they pretty? They are not mine...they were made by Linda O...she sent them to me. Linda is just the best piecer! Just amazingly small and precise...I love them a ton! Thank you, Linda!

Just playing with some more pieces....

And this little quilt is complete. I hand quilted it, including hand stippling the background. Folks, I hate to say it...but I am going to think really hard about fusing and blanket stitching a quilt again. I have a couple prepped and I will finish them, and I think it is fine for wool, but this one raveled pretty badly and the stitches shrunk from the applique piece on the heart only. I did wash it , just so see how it would hold up. This is second little quilt that this has happened to. Maybe I should just not wash them, LOL!! I think I will try really hard to concentrate on needle turn applique instead. Do you have an opinion about fused/blanket stitch versus needle turn? I would love your opinion!

This little box contains a lot of work, LOL!! Deeper than it appears, it has pieces and parts of the blocks below. I would like to make a couple of patient quilts from these.

I have about twenty blocks made so far.

So there you have it folks!! Scrapping it over here...and loving it!! I swear I love little scraps and pieces more than anything!!

Friday, September 5, 2014

In the Spring 2014 magazine issue of Quilts and More, there was a little quilt pattern for a door decoration quilt. I took the pattern and modified it just a little bit, adding the borders on three sides. It would be fun to complete a little quilt like this for each season!! Can't you just see this in autumn colors? I will enjoy the stitching at night...I love those quiet times, just sitting and stitching.

Recently I have been on a cutting binge. Tiny throwaway slivers are turned into these hot pads. Backing, batting, and tiny pieces squished flat with the iron, then just quilted over the top of it all. They make great hot pads, and I get to use all those tiny slivers.

I recently got this at an antique shop. Everything was super inexpensive, don't know why. Maybe they were going out of business? I have no idea what this says, however...do you know? Hope it it something good, LOL!! I do like the old patina of this antique little mirror.

What does it say??

Is this a doily? or a handkerchief? I washed it and pressed it flat. It was in a box of old hankies.